Saturday, July 28, 2012

Welcome to the 1st Reveal of the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party!

Woo-hoo! Welcome to the 1st reveal for the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party! A HUGE thank-you should first be made to the amazing Lori Anderson for all the work that goes into these. Lori has done the beading community around the world such a fabulous service for putting these events together!

I got paired up with the amazing Birgitta Lejonklou of Sweden for this Bead Soup Blog Party, and I was absolutely amazed at what she sent me.

Two pieces of sari silk, a chain, and five of her amazing handmade porcelain cabochons and pendants! Not to mention the cool copper clasp and the assortment of glass, gemstone and wood beads. The whole package was just breathtaking!

My initial thought was to use the Buddha connector with a bead and wire chain, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make the design work.

Realizing that I was getting reeeeeeeeally close to the deadline, I had to come up with something fast. So, I had to resort to my good old quick'n'dirty beaded cabochon skills.

The first piece that drew me was this gorgeous flower cabochon. I started stitching on it for a while, but then ran out of steam. I had a much grander piece in mind, and didn't want to do it a disservice by just doing something fast.

But fast was what I had to do, because I was running out of time!

So I dug through the stash again, and through my own stash, and found a set of beads that worked with the brown cabochon. And this is what I created...

I put some of my newly-acquired wire wrapping skills to good use and attached the copper clasp to the length of brown sari silk. Then I stitched up a bezel and added some crazy fun embellishment to the cabochon!

I've been having some fun lately playing with different edgings and trims for my cabochons. I love the look of lace surrounding the cabochon, and I think I may have to turn that edging into a full-fledged beaded necklace!

I should also give a big thank-you to my swap partner, Birgitta Lejonklou, for sending me such beautiful pieces! I still have plans for the rest of the components...and I want to finish that blue floral cabochon before I head to Bead Fest Philly on the 15th. I've got an idea for embellishing it that I want to try...

So, while you're here, check out all the other amazing goodies that are being revealed today in the Blog Party!

And please, please head over to Birgitta's blog, Create with Spirit, and check out what SHE made with the soup I sent her! She's really a fantastically talented jewelry designer in addition to being a gifted ceramic artist. Lots of pretty stuff to look at!

So now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm off to the farmer's market and to cook dinner for eight! Have fun!

Wow! And you still have so much great stuff left to work with! Your necklace may be the faster version than what you wanted to do initially, but it's still very pretty - and now you can take your time for your grander plans. I'll be curious to see what you do with that Buddha :)

Hi my partner :)Yupp... we did not have a very long time but lots of fun. I love the way You framed the brown cab. !! I wish I could do work like that. It is a lovely necklace with the silk and clasp and I look forward to see what else You do with the blue flower and the others using Your amazing skill as a beading queen :)

Hi Jenn,I love what you started with the floral cab and I really love what you did with the brown cab it is gorgeous. Have fun creating the rest of the floral cab I can not wait to see what you did with it.Therese

Your special "kind" are one of the reasons I learned to seed bead around cabochons. I saw how beautiful it looked and I just HAD to learn how to do it! I am still in awe of the seed beading skills of those who can do this at a whim. You are so very talented! The whole thing just fascinates me, and I really enjoy it! I totally understand how you could run out of time. I was thinking myself "how do they actually do this for a deadline? It takes me forever!" And here you went and beaded around ANOTHER different pendent! It's awesome, and not even plain, it's got that lovely fancy edging! I totally love it, and it looks awesome just as it is, it really doesn't even need any more IMHO. I couldn't help myself, I ended up checking out your other blog stuff, and your competition piece is really awesome too. Don't EVER stop beading! <3 You truly are an inspiration. -Diane

you did a fabulous job with both cabs, and from looking at your entry into the contest , the blue one will surely be stunning when you are done, and you made a wise choice to not spoil the piece by rushing. Your edging on the other is beautiful- looks like netting, am I right??

Beading Patterns Available in My Etsy Shop

Beading Patterns Available in My Etsy Shop

About Me

I'm an almost-forty-something momma, devout yogi, fearless explorer of the world around me. Thrift shop maven, unflinching advocate of community supported agriculture and organic lifestyle, and mom to quite possibly the most adorable, loving little boy on this side of the planet.